form 5500 information

The Form 5500 is used to report information concerning employee benefit plans for employers with 100 or more enrolled employees in an ERISA group plan. Any administrator or sponsor of an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA must file information about each plan every year.

Employers and administrators who comply with the instructions for the Form 5500 and schedules will generally satisfy the annual reporting requirements. Each Form 5500 must accurately reflect the characteristics and operations of the plan being reported. Form 5500s are required to be eFiled with the Department of Labor through EFAST2 (link below).By request (THIS USUALLY MEANS THERE IS AN AUDIT OR LAWSUIT COMING), Annual Reports (Form 5500) filed under Title I of ERISA must be made available by plan administrators to plan participants. The Summary Annual Report (SAR) is a summary of the Form 5500 information. ERISA requires that a SAR be distributed to each participant for each plan once a year.

The Form 5500 is due by the last day of the seventh (7th) month following the end of the plan year. If the filing cannot be made in time, a 2-1/2 month-extension can be applied for by submitting a Form 5558 (link below). Severe fines can be imposed for each day that the filing is not in compliance and as the late/great Vince Lombardi was quoted saying, "fail to prepare, prepare to fail." However, delinquent filers can take advantage of EBSA's Reduced Penalty Program (Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance - DFVC) which allows for voluntary compliance and payment of reduced penalties.